It’s getting to be warmer outside and slowly day by day it is staying lighter longer.  Now is about the time you should be thinking of preparing your garden for spring.  You should tidy up your garden beds and pull any weeds that are sprouting.  To prevent any new weeds from growing, apply a weed preventer, such as Preen Organic Vegetable Garden Weed Preventer.  It is an organic substance that is safe to use around pets and children and will effectively prevent annual weeds from growing.  After you get rid of the weeds, you can plant some pansies and primroses for some early blooming.  Then add 2-3″ of mulch on top and you’re good to go!

the Skyscraper garden is a sturdy trellis that attaches to a wall, fence, or any upright to give you a vertical gardening space. Use it for any vine crops like:

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Zuchini
• Beans

You can plant lettuce cabbages and other crops around the base to really maximize your gardening space.

Another plus is that planting against a wall may extend your gardening season. The wall can provide shelter from winds, and will absorb heat during the day, radiating it back onto your garden plants at night.

The Skyscraper Garden Trellis is strong enough to suppport your plants right through harvest. It has cedar brackets holding a 50″ steel rod that can support 100 pounds! The trellis has  5.5” x 6”  openings, making it easy to harvest fruit, and the netting will last for 5 years. And look how attractive it is when fully planted:

Skyscraper Garden Trellis

How do you save space in the garden? Send us your ideas or photos, we’ll post them here!

So if you are still shopping, maybe a coupon will lower your blood pressure. It’s worth 10% off your order at YardLover.com, and it expires on Sunday December 20th. Then, just enter this code at checkout:

12FACEBOOK14

This was originally offered only to our Facebook fans, but it’s crunch time for all of us, so shop and enjoy! Start with our Gifts for Gardeners for some great ideas.

And if you want to make sure you get first notice of all our specials and sales, here’s how:

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Some Nice Fire Starter Gift Baskets:

It’s a perfect symbol of the season as I see it, since it is a gift that gives back.  Using your composter or rain barrel, you take what nature provides, and return it back to nature. What a peaceful, happy idea.

Some Gifts to Consider:

Agua Rain Barrel

Tumbleweed Composter

Kitchen Compost Pail

The responses were more than 2-to-1 in favor of real trees.

There were also some terrific “green” hints that I really appreciated. Here they are:

• “I think we are going to do a fresh cut tree this year and then chip it and use it in the flower beds after for mulch and will smell good and keep fleas away.”
• “I live in a small apartment and just found the perfect tree….. a potted rosemary, shaped just like a pine. It smells terrific and takes up very little space….+ I can plant it in my friend’s yard after Christmas!”

• “real…then we chop it up and add it to our mulch pile!”

What great ideas! If you do have a real tree, keep an eye out for businesses or local agencies that will chip it up for you after Christmas.  Thank you all for your earth-loving suggestions!

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I love the fresh scent of evergreens, but I’m just not sure I love it enough any more to:

• Haul home a tree on top of the car(in the rain, it always rains)
• Saw off the bottom & lower branches (hands sticky with sap)
• Drag it into the house (trailing water and needles)
• Secure it in the stand (it will be crooked)
• String it with lights(some will work, some won’t)
• Keep the reservoir filled(I’ll overflow it, then forget and let it run dry)
• Haul it back out to the curb
• Spend the winter vacuuming needles out of the carpet.

What’s wrong with starting here:

7.5 Foot Lifelike Norway Fir

Dry, pre- lit, straight, it’s everything I dream of in a Christmas tree. All ready for the fun part-decorating and drinking hot chocolate!

Thanks for listening.  I think I’ve made my decision!

What’s your preference? Real or artificial? Let’s hear your comments…..

They are made of quality wild bird seed, including Black Oil Sunflower, Peanuts, colored Safflower and Red Millet, so they are packed with the nutrients and calories birds need in winter.

Hung from a branch or post, they’ll last a long time, enticing feathered friends to your yard week after week.

Bird seed wreaths are attractive, and reasonably priced, so they make a great gift for:

• friends
• neighbors
• teachers
• hostess gifts

But if you are still shopping, I strongly recommend doing it from the comfort of your home.  Let’s get in the mood by looking at some of YardLover.com’s best selling gift ideas.  Go pour some coffee, and we’ll get started.

Galileo Thermometer. A classic gift that everyone will enjoy. Floating colored spheres accurately read the temperature. Galileos come in lots of different sizes and styles. Some can be used outdoors as well as in.  Take a look.

Virginia Diner Mixed Nuts. Just one of the delicious gourmet snacks made and shipped fresh. Virginia Diner is reknowned for their gourmet snacks, from roasted peanuts and cashews, to chocolate covered and butter toasted nuts.

Rumford Gardener Mini Tool Set and Tote. These are flying out the door, and why not? The hand tools are high quality, the tote is sturdy and practical, and the plant mister is lovely and just what thirsty house plants need this winter.

Carnivorous Creations Terrarium. What kid wouldn’t love to grow this terrarium.  Or if not this one, how about a Bonsai, a fairy garden, or a prehistoric plant? Check out all the terrarium gardens.

Ok, there’s a start. But if you don’t see exactly the right thing, don’t give up. Visit our Gifts for Gardeners for hundreds of items for gardeners, and non-gardeners. Happy shopping!